I'm married with one child, a little girl, and a baby due this fall. When we found out we were pregnant a little over two years ago, we were over the moon happy. We had tried unsuccessfully to get pregnant for quite a while after our daughter was born and when it finally happened, all our doubts were washed away. We felt relieved and that we were part of something bigger than just our little family unit.

I had no previous health problems, so it came as a surprise when a routine ultrasound showed a potentially dangerous developmental problem for the baby. The doctors performed several tests, each of which confirmed their diagnosis. I'm holding back on the exact details of the situation because it was very controversial for our extended family and friends, and I don't wish to cause them further grief if they read this.

Upon our medical team's strong recommendation, we considered and eventually agreed to have the pregnancy terminated. I still can't go into the details of what happened, but when it was over - it was much quicker than we anticipated - the nurse allowed us to hold our little 16-week treasure. There wasn't a trace of the deformities mentioned by the doctors, and they have never been able to conclude whether our little boy would have been diagnosed with anything had he been full-term. We suspect that is for their own liability protection, and we have decided not to pursue anything legally to avoid further trauma for ourselves.

We made a mistake and are 100% pro-life now. Allowing our child to be killed can never be taken back, but we have learned a major, life-altering lesson. We are in counseling right now, both for the trauma of the abortion and to repair the damage it did to our marriage. We also attend a post-abortion grief support group and are training to volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center, which we will happily do once we are further along in our own journey.

I beg you not to make the mistake we did, even when you truly feel you have a perfect reason to do so. Please reconsider before you have an abortion. Don't do it! It will change your life and you will never be the same.